Fiscal management pays off

In a time when many people have lost faith in government, Calabasas wants its citizens to know they can trust their leaders, City Councilmember Barry Groveman said.

Last week, Calabasas received two awards commending the city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report on the local municipal finances.

"People in the city need to know that the government is above the grade on the performance and the accountability that (Calabasas) should have," Groveman said.

The report was recognized by both the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers and the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence in financial reporting.

According to the association, the awards represent the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

"Awards such as these are important because they give confidence to our residents that the city's finances are being managed to the highest standards in the state," said Calabasas City Manager Tony Coroalles. "Very few cities have achieved this level of excellence."

"This is fundamentally critical when you think about where this city has come from," Groveman said. He said one of the reasons he ran for city council in 2003 was his belief that the city was being run more like a family bakery than a municipal government.

"There was genuine concern about a lack of accountability- about how we were spending," Groveman said. "I was one person who refused to sign the warrant register (the city's checkbook register)."

When Groveman was elected, he and the council created a chief financial officer position and hired Gary Lysik to fill that position. The council also put in place many reforms to address various problems with the way the city was run.

Since then, Calabasas has made major improvements. According to Groveman, Lysik installed new processes that have saved the city millions of dollars.

In November, Calabasas received a higher municipal bond rating due to its better financing. And due to the better rating, in May the city was able to refinance the 30-year Mello-Roos loan that The Oaks of Calabasas development received about three years ago.

Instead of paying a 6.21 percent interest rate on the MelloRoos, residents now pay a 5.25 percent interest rate, which means an average monthly savings of about $221 per resident, which is a lifetime savings of about $5,525 per resident, according to Coroalles.